New Horizons, III

By: Hotaru

Warnings: Steve bashing, abuse, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers

An asterisk (*) means to look at the end of the chapter for more information.

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"Claire, I'm back!" Leon shouted into his apartment, while balancing a bag of groceries on his knee. Pulling his keys out of the door, he held them with his teeth and bumped the door shut. Placing the bags on the kitchen counter, he put all the refrigeratable items into the fridge and went to the guest room. "Claire?" He asked, knocking softly on the door.

There was no answer, so he opened the door a crack. Claire was asleep on the bed with Katie in her arms. Leon silently closed the door and went back to the kitchen. He unpacked all the groceries and put everything away before settling down in the living room for some good ol' television.

Eventually, he got bored of watching re-runs of old game shows, so he went into the kitchen to make some lunch/dinner. /Nothing like a turkey sandwich stuffed with crisp lettuce and a hint of mayo/ Leon thought stupidly, as he went back into the living room to eat. The guest room door opened and Claire walked out, in a slight daze. "Hey." Leon greeted, biting into his sandwich.

"Oh, hi. I didn't even see you." Claire replied, walking over to sit on the recliner. "Sorry for scaring you. Want some?" Leon asked, holding up his sandwich. "No, that's ok. I'm not really hungry." Claire said.

"So how's Katie doing?" Leon asked.

"She's fine, sleeping. She'll wake up again in the night, then in the morning a few times to eat. I hope it won't bother you to much." Claire replied.

"I'm sure it won't be a problem."

"That's good. I guess we should probably go get some things for her from the house…" Claire said reluctantly.

Leon looked up from his meal and asked, "We? But I thought you didn't want to go back there." Claire nodded and answered, "I don't. But it's a little difficult to write down the directions. Even though I've driven there a thousand times, I can't remember what streets I go down, I just know what they look like. But anyway, I'll stay in the car."

Chuckling slightly, Leon nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. In high school, there weren't room numbers to me, just rooms. Like, math would be on the third floor next to the bulletin board, but not the radiator. English was right by the stairs that lead down to the college office. So, yeah, I know what you mean." He noted. Claire nodded and sighed.

There was brief silence between them, until Leon wolfed down the rest of his sandwich. "Ok, just let me get ready, and we can go, ok?" He said, tossing the t.v. remote to Claire. "Nothing's on, but you can look if you want." He continued before bringing his plate to the kitchen sink. Claire turned on the t.v. and felt something that she never had before.

You're not watching this shit! What is this, Lifetime? Fuck that, the game's on! I bet a lot of money on my team, Claire. Go make yourself useful and get me some damn food! Steve would shout something like that every time Claire turned on the t.v.

Despite living in the same area for years, Claire had no idea which channels were which. So, she chose to channel surf instead.

Pulling his shoes on, Leon grabbed his keys and went into the living room. "Hey, you ready..? Oh, if you're watching something, we can go later." He said. Claire looked away from the t.v. and automatically said, "No, it's nothing." And stood up. Leon shrugged and Claire went to get Katie. "It looks like it's going to rain again soon." Leon remarked once they were outside, and noticed the rain had stopped.

"Yeah, it does. Thank God. Rain usually puts Katie right to sleep, as long as there's no thunder or lighting." Claire replied, climbing into Leon's car. Leon turned the car on and asked, "So which way am I going?"

"Well, you can take the expressway, or the service roads, and go down a few exits to Forest, then you take a side street, down to a residential area." Claire replied.

"Okay then, we're off!" Leon replied, backing out of the parking lot and onto the street. Claire stared blankly out the window, and wondered if this would be the last time she went to that house again.

"When I'm with you, I'm free. I'm careless…"* Leon's singing trailed off as he felt Claire stare at him. "Sorry." He said quickly. Laughing slightly, Claire shook her head. "It's ok, I'm just not used to singing. It was kind of forbidden. Steve always had a headache; there was always something wrong in the car. I don't know how he could stand to just…sit and drive." She explained.

Leon smiled and Claire quickly said, "Turn right up there." Heading into the residential area, Leon wondered which house was Claire's. "Well, I don't have a problem with you singing, or me, or anyone. Just as long as the song isn't horrible and I can tolerate it." He continued. Nodding slightly, Claire pointed to a house on the corner. "That's it?" Leon asked, remembering the house to be a different shade.

"That's it." Claire repeated as Leon pulled in front of the house. "Let me make up a quick list of what I need and where you can find it." She said, pulling a piece of paper from her pocket. "Pen?" She asked, reaching her hand out. Rummaging in the door pocket, Leon finally pulled on out. "Thanks." Claire said softly, beginning to write.

Looking around, Leon sighed. It was a pretty nice looking neighborhood and seemed unlikely that someone like Steve would live there. "Ok, that's it. The crib is collapsible, so it won't be a pain to take out. Thanks a lot Leon." Claire said, handing the list over. "It's no problem. I'll try to be as quick as I can." Leon said, taking the list, and climbing out of the car. Claire watched as the off-duty cop walked into her home once again. He had only been there once, after all. Steve refused to let any one visit.

Except of course his friends. Good ol' Brett, never sober in his adult life. Claire clenched her fist tightly and remembered a time, where he and Steve were so drunk that Steve offered Brett a night alone with her. Punching the door, and frightening Katie, Claire cried. In turn, Katie cried. "Shh, please don't cry sweetie. Mommy's ok, see?" Claire said, wiping her eyes. Katie looked up at Claire curiously and tugged her hair.

Meanwhile, Leon was in the house with a duffel bag, searching for the items on Claire's list. "Clean clothes." Leon read out loud, looking for the bedroom. He found it, and proceeded to opening drawers. "Shirts, socks, pants and shorts…underwear." Leon said, feeling guilty touching the woman's personal belongings. Shaking his head, Leon grabbed a pile of them and closed the drawers.

After finding Claire's diaper bag, and tucking Katie's crib under his arm, Leon headed outside. Upon seeing a man leaning on the door, and talking to Claire, he walked quicker. "C'mon Claire, he di'nt mean nothin'. Don't be such a bitch." The man said. Leon walked over to him and said, "Hey, get away from her." The man eyed Leon and said, "Or what?" Rolling his eyes, Leon put Claire's belongings in the trunk.

"Did Steve send you? Tell you to try and get Claire back for him?" Leon questioned angrily. "Who the fuck are you? Mind'ya business."** The man said, turning back to Claire. "Leave me alone, Brett. Or I'll call the cops." She said, turning forward. "I am the cops and I'll arrest you for harassment." Leon said, flashing his shield from the other side of the car. The man finally backed away and glared at Leon before walking away.

Leon climbed into the car and belted himself in. "Asshole." Claire muttered, shifting in her seat. "Who was that guy?" Leon asked, turning the car on. Sighing, Claire replied, "Brett, one of Steve's friends. Just…just drive." Turning the car on, Leon made a K-turn and headed back home. "Claire..if you ever want to talk, even in the middle of the night, don't feel afraid okay?" Leon said as they neared his apartment. Claire looked up at Leon and smiled.

"Thanks. I don't think anyone has ever made an offer like that to me…well, besides Chris. God knows where he is right now. We finally met up in Antarctica. That's where me and Steve went after escaping from Rockfort Island. But after Alexia was killed, he just kind of went off on his own. I think deep down, he was kind of afraid and needed to be alone." Claire explained. Leon nodded and pulled into his apartment parking lot.

"I…thought Steve was dead. I mean, I saw him die. One day, he just…showed up. I had no idea what the fuck happened. The last time I saw him, he told me he loved me, and then he died. Now, he's back in town and wants to be with me. I guess my state of mind at that point was one reason that I was with him. It was still such a damn shock to see someone come back to life, that I thought that if I didn't agree to be with him, that he'd just..be dead again. Maybe my sanity wasn't at normal levels, so I tried to ignore the beatings and non-consensual sex and forced myself to believe that he was alive because he loved me."

Leon watched Claire as she stared at the glove compartment, and as tears welled up in her eyes. He put a finger on her lips and said, "Shh, that's enough for now. I don't want you getting yourself all worked up, ok?" Claire smiled under Leon's finger and wiped her eyes. "I just feel bad about leaving you in the dark like this. You're probably completely baffled at why the hell I'm acting like I'm dying or something." Claire joked, un-buckling her seat belt.

"Well, I'm curious, yes, but I don't want to push you. It's good to talk, but it's bad to talk too much. Let's get inside, before it starts to pour." Leon said, as lightning flickered in the distance. Claire nodded and the two climbed out of the car and went out to the trunk to remove Claire and Katie's things. "I can't believe you carried this all by yourself!" Claire remarked as they trudged into the building. "Ha ha, the department has all it's officers have memberships to a gym nearby, and we have to go there about three times a week to ensure we meet physical fitness requirements." Leon replied, unlocking the door to the mail hall.

Claire nodded as they walked to the elevator. "I see. I bet Katie's hungry. She's going to start whining soon." She said. Leon pressed the elevator call button a few times and sighed. "I gotta move out of this place.." He said, looking around. Claire looked up at him. "Why? It seems nice enough.." She remarked. Finally, the elevator came, and they stepped on. "Well, it's a lot of things, I guess. The elevator never comes quickly, the neighbors are always loud and having parties, the hot water hardly works half the time…" Leon began.

"Ah, I see. I guess people who own a house don't really have those problems. But where would you go?" Claire asked as they stepped onto Leon's floor. "I have no idea. I don't want to move into another apartment, but I don't want to buy a house until I'm ready. So basically…the only options I have are to complain to the neighbors and Super of the building. He's a pretty reasonable guy. You give him extra money, he gives you what you want." Leon said sarcastically.

Claire snickered as they entered Leon's dim apartment. "You want to put these in the guest room?" Leon asked. "Uh, sure. I guess that's where I'll be staying for awhile." Claire replied, butting the door open and tossing some things onto the bed. Leon set the crib against the wall and placed the over-stuffed duffel on the bed. "Alright, I'll let you get unpacked and settled in. Give me a call if you need anything." Leon said, closing the door to Claire's room.

Sighing slightly, he went to the kitchen and dialed into his precinct. "Ah, yes, Lieutenant Daniels please." Leon said to the receptionist Betty.

"Hey, it's me Leon, I was just calling to give you an update on the domestic violence case I called you about earlier." Leon said quietly.

"Ah, yeah, this was a friend of yours, right?" The lieutenant replied.

"Yeah. We just brought back some of her things from her house, and while she waited in my car, this guy 'Brett' started talking to her. I didn't hear much, but from what I gathered, he was one of her boyfriend's drinking buddies who tried to pressure her into taking him back."

"In cases like these, the attacker usually send some friends to do their bidding while they rot away in a jail cell. How's she doing?" Daniels asked.

"She's alright, a bit…closed off for now. But it's understandable. I want to talk to her about it, and we have a little bit, but I don't want her to feel pressure."

"The hospital said that they didn't do a rape test?"

"Yeah, she just wanted to get the hell out of there. But if they think that he wasn't forcing her, they're fuc—they're wrong. When I came in, he was holding her down and forcing himself of her. Sick bastard."

"Alright, Kennedy. Take care of your friend for a couple of days until she's ready to be alone. Just give the precinct a call when you think you know when you'll be back so we can tell the temp to go, ok? Good luck."

"Thank you for your understanding, sir. Have a nice night."

Sighing, Leon hung up the phone and rubbed his face. It was getting dark out, and he had had a late night the day before so Leon knocked on Claire's door. "Yeah?" Claire asked. "It's me. I'm sacked out, so I'm gonna conk out for the night. There's food in the kitchen, don't be afraid to have what ever you want. If you need me, I'm right across the hall." Leon said through the door. "Alright, thanks." Claire replied.

Shaking his head, Leon went into his own room and climbed under the covers. He stared up at the ceiling, watching the lights and shadows of cars passing by. It was early in the night, still, but he needed to get some sleep.

TBC

*"My Sacrifice" by Creed

**Insert NYC slang here. It's hard to put into words how I pronounce that…it sounds most like "mind'ja business". Yes, like that.